The University of Missouri’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture is excited to announce that registration is now open for the Missouri State Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. This virtual event will be held via Zoom on the mornings of Dec. 14 and 15, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This conference will bring together farmers, agribusiness reps, extension and agency staff, farm organization reps, researchers, and more to learn about and share experiences using regenerative farming practices to improve soil health.

Kickoff presentations each day will be by Missouri Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Scott Edwards and Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Director Sara Parker Pauley, discussing recent efforts by their respective agencies related to cover crops and soil health.

“Another highlight of the conference will be farmer presentations, with some really innovative cover crop users from all over Missouri sharing their experiences” said Rob Myers, director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. “The first panel includes Kate Lambert of Uptown Farms, winner of the 2017 Leopold Conservation Award, and Happy Hollow Farm’s Liz Graznak, winner of the 2021 Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) award.”

Other experienced cover crop users on the panel include Cecil Harness (Harness Farms) and Johnny Hunter (Castor River Farms), sharing their approaches for building soil health.

Another producer panel will focus on grazing of cover crops, and will feature Dave Haubein (Haubein Farms), Josh Payne, and Mac Kincaid (Kincaid Farms), selected by High Plains Journal as the 2021 Soil Health U Young Regenerative Producer of the Year.

The second morning of the conference includes an informative session on soil health measurement and presentations on cover crop resources and available cover crop incentive programs from NRCS, MDC, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Soil and Water Conservation Program.

Participants will also have the opportunity on the second morning to interact with experts through breakout rooms focused on various soil health topics, including tips on managing cover crops successfully, economics of cover crops and new soil carbon programs, in addition to recent progress in understanding soil biology and the results of MU’s on-farm strip trial program.

Conference registration is free but requested in advance. Please visit the event page for the Missouri State Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health to register: cra.missouri.edu/event/missouri-state-conference-on-cover-crops-and-soil-health/. For more information, contact Kelly Wilson at kellyrwilson@missouri.edu.

The Center for Regenerative Agriculture at the University of Missouri is a collaborative home for research, education, and outreach. Based in Columbia, Missouri, the CRA partners with a variety of partners to bring up-to-date knowledge on regenerative farming practices to diverse audiences. Information can be found at: cra.missouri.edu/.